De Villiers fit and ready to face Sri Lanka

23 January 2017 - 09:51 By Mahlatse Mphahlele‚ At Willowmoore Park In Benoni
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AB de Villiers looms large for the Proteas in the third and final T20 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Wednesday after scoring an unbeaten 134 to help Northerns to a convincing eight wicket win over Easterns in the CSA Provincial One Day Challenge match in Benoni on Sunday.

Playing in his first competitive match in about five months‚ De Villiers’ patient and sometimes exuberant knock came from 103 balls and it included 19 boundaries and three maximums as he put himself in the reckoning for his first international ODI match since June.

Speaking after the match‚ De Villiers said it felt good to return to competitive cricket after a long injury lay off that resulted from an elbow surgery and declared himself fit and ready for Wednesday against Sri Lanka.

“It is always enjoyable to come down to play provincial cricket and see some of the talent that we have in this country at this level. I followed my game plan and I always have respect for the game. The shoulder is fine‚ it’s the elbow where I felt something at times with one or two shots that I played but it is not too bad and I am ready to play in Cape Town‚” he said.

De Villiers added that he had to be professional with the way he went about his business despite the fact that he was playing against modest opposition.

“I had to be professional with the way I carried myself because any bowler can get you out at any stage of the game and I have seen that happen many times before. I have faced some club bowlers before in my life who were handier than those playing at international level. So‚ I respected the game and I am very happy to have been out there on the park again and I enjoyed every second of it.”

After being set a low target of 200 by Easterns‚ De Villiers started his innings slowly as he scored 19 runs from his first 20 balls‚ which included three boundaries‚ before he moved through the gears.

“Batting against the new ball at Willowmoore Park is not easy because the ball moves around a lot here. I was batting at a run a ball from start and mainly throughout my innings because we needed four runs an over to win the game. I play cricket to win games and not to look fancy‚ reach milestones or score double hundreds‚” he said.

De Villiers used his feet to good effect as he danced through his innings with ease while scoring from all angles of the ground to punish the inexperienced opposition bowlers and fielders who at times could only watch and admire the master at work.

He defended well on the front and back foot‚ left some of the balls that were pitched outside off stump and he showed energy with his running between wickets.

He reached his half century from 50 balls‚ which included nine boundaries‚ and with confidence increasing it proved too much for Easterns as Northerns went on to reach the 200 target in 31 overs to win by eight wickets with 117 balls to spare.

TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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